Kenya opposition leader warns US Ambassador to "shut up"

By Joseph Muia, NAIROBI Kenya

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party leader Raila Odinga has lashed at United States Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman over her remarks that the August 2022 General Election was the most credible poll the country has ever held.

Mr. Odinga, while addressing the Devolution Conference in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County on Thursday, chastised Whitman for what he intimated to be meddling in Kenya’s affairs.

The opposition chief told off the American envoy as he defended the recent spate of demonstrations which he said served the purpose of uniting the country and compelling the government to come to the dialogue table.

"I want to tell the rogue ambassador, leave Kenyans alone. If maandamano can lead to dialogue between Ichung’wah and Kalonzo, everything is good with maandamano,” Odinga stated.

He went on to state that if Whitman continues to comment on Kenyan issues, then opposition political faction may be forced to petition the US government to recall her.

"Tell the rogue Ambassador Kenya is not the United States and it is not a colony of the United States; keep your mouth shut while here, otherwise, we will call for your recall back to your country,” the Azimio chief said.

Mr. Odinga’s remarks come after similar ones by Azimio MPs who faulted the envoy, with some of them imploring her to retract her comments which they said were against the US's support for democracy.

The legislators also claimed that Whitman's remarks could undermine the ongoing national talks.

Ambassador Whitman, while speaking at the opening of the same Devolution Conference on Wednesday, opined that the 2022 polls affirmed Kenya’s position as the most democratic State in the continent.

She said: “I arrived in Kenya days before the August 2022 General Election, and what I witnessed was nothing short of remarkable. Kenya held, what many analysts and commentators say, was the free-est, fairest and most credible election in Kenyan history.”

"The elections were observed by international and local organizations, and the results were upheld by the Kenyan Supreme Court, and power was transferred orderly and peacefully.”